Description
Combining the flavors of our South Australian wine tasting, this Chardonnay White Chocolate Cheesecake is a creamy treat worth all the effort.
Ingredients
Scale
Crust
- 1 cup old fashioned oats
- 1 cup walnuts
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup melted butter
Filling
- 1 1/2 pounds cream cheese (24 oz)
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1/2 Tbsp vanilla paste or extract
- 3/4 tsp chardonnay extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 4 egg whites
- 3/4 cup chopped white chocolate or white chocolate chips
Strawberry sauce
- 1 pint of strawberries
- 2–3 Tbsp sugar
- 1/2 – 1 Tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
Make the crust:
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
- In a food processor, whirl the oats, walnuts, brown sugar, and melted butter until nuts are crumbly and all ingredients are combined.
- Spread the mixture in the bottom and about 1/2 inch up the sides of a 9-inch cheesecake pan with removable bottom.
- Bake 8-10 minutes, until light golden brown.
- When the crust is finished reduce the oven temperature to 300 degress F.
Make the filling while the crust bakes:
- Cut the cream cheese into chunks and add it to the food processor.
- Add the sour cream, vanilla, chardonnay extract, salt, and sugar to the cream cheese and whirl until smooth.
- Add the eggs and egg whites and pulse, scraping down the sides occasionally, until incorporated and evenly colored.
- Stir in the chopped white chocolate.
- Pour the filling into the prepared crust.
- Bake 1 hour. The cheesecake should be firm on the sides and still move a little in the center when you shake the pan gently.
- Turn the oven off and leave the cheesecake in the oven with the door cracked open for 1 hour.
- After one hour, remove the cheesecake from the oven and place it on the countertop and cover with a kitchen towel to cool to room temperature – about four hours.
- Refrigerate the cheesecake in the pan at least 6 hours.
Make the strawberry sauce:
- In a blender, combine the sliced strawberries, sugar and juice.
- Blend until smooth.
- Taste and adjust sugar and lemon juice as needed.
When ready to serve, remove the cheesecake from pan, slice, and top with strawberry sauce.
Notes
- To prevent the top of the cheesecake from cracking you could run a sharp knife around the edges before letting it sit for an hour in the turned off oven.
- The strawberry sauce can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge until ready to serve.
- Leftovers keep well in the fridge for several days or slices can be frozen and thawed as needed.
Keywords: cheesecake, chocolate, wine
